Who the heck is Jordan Beck?

Doc BearAug 13, 2008 1:05 AM

Jordan Beck (6-foot-2, 233 pounds, DOB Apr 18, 1983 - Mount Herman, CA) is currently fighting it out for a slot as a 2nd string LB and special teams player. Information on him is fairly sketchy, but he is a third-year pro who was waived by the Atlanta Falcons on Sept. 2, 2007 (Atlanta cut him after he lost his job to Tony Taylor, an undrafted rookie.) and we picked him up shortly after. He joined the Falcons as a third-round pick out of Cal Poly (SLO, CA) in the 2005 draft and was a surprise pick at #26 of the 3rd round, 90th overall. Unfortunately, he missed his 1st season with a broken foot. He played in 15 games last season for the Broncos and made 13 special teams tackles which was good for 2nd on the team behind Jamie Winborn even though he only played in 10 games. Beck is essentially a special teams ace who brings a lot to that part of the field.

In college, Beck won the 2004 Buck Buchanan Award which goes to the top defensive player in the Football Championship Subdivision, formerly called Division I-AA. He was a big fish in a small pond at Cal-Poly San Luis Obispo, but so far hasn’t translated that into a comfortable berth in the pros. He was the centerpiece for his college team’s flex defense and led the Mustangs in tackles in all four seasons that he played. He set school records for tackles in a game (23 at Montana in 2003), season (135 in 2004) and career (449). At the 80th annual East-West Shrine Game at SBC Park in San Francisco, he recorded a team-high six stops for the West.

Beck has a good combination of size and athleticism, though. He plays with good balance and control while maintaining his lanes and is an effective open-field tackler. He was aggressive as a college player, and liked to freelance which has given him an advantage on ST. He'll need to show more discipline to play within the Broncos scheme, though - he also needs to get stronger.

With the competition that Winborn and Woodyard are bringing, it may be Beck’s experience that permits him to hold on to his backup position over Woodyard. He looked good today playing with the 2nd team along with Woodyard and Webster, and had a few solid plays in Saturday’s game against the Texans. With Boss and Louis Green on the sidelines, he will get another big chance to prove himself this week against the Cowboys.